Void Marriage -- Marriage During Subsistence of Earlier Marriage -- Subsequent marriage void ab initio, burden to prove customary exception lies on party asserting it
(i) Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Ss.11, 5(1) -- Void Marriage -- Marriage During Subsistence of Earlier Marriage -- A marriage contracted during the subsistence of an earlier valid marriage is void ab initio. Where a subsequent marriage is claimed to have occurred under a customary practice, the party asserting such custom must specifically plead and strictly prove that the custom permits remarriage during the lifetime of the first spouse. (ii) Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Ss.11, 5(1) -- Void Marriage -- Customary Marriage or Cohabitation -- Mere assertion of a customary marriage, such as a "Chudi" marriage, or evidence of cohabitation cannot convert a marriage that is otherwise void under law into a valid one. (iii) Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Ss.5, 7 -- Validity of Marriage -- Unproven Customary Practice -- Mere reference to a customary practice, without proof of its continuity, certainty and acceptance, cannot confer the status of a legally valid marriage under Hindu law. (iv) Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Ss.5, 7 -- Validity of Marriage -- Reliance on Revenue Entries -- Revenue entries and general statements regarding a customary marriage cannot, by themselves, establish the validity of a marriage. Revenue records are administrative or fiscal in nature and cannot confer title or override the substantive provisions of Hindu law governing marriage and succession. (v) Specific Relief Act, 1963, S.34 -- Suit for Declaration of Title -- Unproven Marital Relationship -- Where plaintiffs fail to prove a valid marital relationship between their mother and the father of defendant No.1, they also fail to establish any legal right to succeed to his property. A finding of the First Appellate Court holding such a marital relationship proved, without such proof, is perverse, and dismissal of the suit by the trial court is proper.
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